July 7, 2013

In Wake of Massive Political Defeat, MB Resorts To Terror Against Egyptians To Stay Relevant

Brief comment: The Ayatollahs, Hamas, and the Muslim Brotherhood always received Western and Israeli aid when they first started to use terror to impose their will on the local governments and populations.

I would not be surprised at all if Washington arms Muslim Brotherhood terrorists during this ongoing political crisis in Egypt to tear Egypt apart, and then stands back and says, "Oh, lookie lookie there, Islamist terrorists are breaking Egypt apart and threatening Israel, oh my, oh my, someone get the phone and put Netanyahoo on the line so we can discuss these shocking developments."

It may appear in the surface that the military coup – or sort of – is responsible for any terrorist actions that may take place. But such proposition is superficial. The armed groups that carried Morsi’s picture and appeared hours after his departure were already there before he was forced out of the presidential place. The Muslem Brotherhood (MB) had its own militia all along. This militia manifested its force last December when it used lethal force to end a protest of the opposition in front of Alittahadia palace where the president of Egypt is seated. Lines of MBs moving in an organized way stormed the square facing the palace and left several protesters dead and ended the protest then they vanished.

Military and police posts in Sinai were attacked on regular bases during Morsi’s reign and many soldiers were killed or kidnaped. Many die-hard prominent terrorist figures were pardoned by the president and released from prison after they gave “their word” that they will not resort to terrorism. They left to their home towns in Upper Egypt which later witnessed some remarkable armed violence when Morsi was toppled.
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But the dynamics of what happened since Mubarak was overthrown should be re-examined on light of what happened in the first week of this July. The equation the MBs drew for Egypt seemed for a moment to be a win-win deal. The silent understanding between the Mbs and its Islamic allies was that Egypt will be “Islamized” democratically. If not some other means could be used.

Terror is not an end in itself for these groups. The rule of Shari’a is. The MBs were given a chance to reach that end. If it fails, arms will talk. ( (in fact, terrorism is not the first tactic of the group, it is just the second).
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But what happened in the post Mubarak Egypt was, however, a positive step in a way. To include the MBs into the political process could have been a positive development. But what followed was a series of terrible errors. It was crucial to guarantee that the MBs once allowed into the political theater, will not have a free hand in “Islamizing” Egypt. There was a need to “force” them to play politics through a balanced constitution and relentless follow up with the MBs leadership in every step they take. Time was needed until the political game in Egypt deepens its roots and creates its set of mind, intrinsic forces and logic and really becomes a way of life. By giving the MBs a near “carte blanche”, and by believing their double explanation for every step they take and mismanaging the first military transition (including the catastrophic constitution), it was obvious that the country would certainly slide to a big crisis. That was even more obvious with the MBs clash with the judiciary, the opposition, the military and everybody else. Furthermore, this “carte blanche” shortened the life of the MBs in the political process. A longer stay would have been inevitably reflected within the organization in different levels.

Therefore, what followed the overthrow of Mubarak witnessed two parallel factors playing out when it comes to the MBS. One was its historical roots in terrorism which was used when needed. The second was its new role as a political force. It was necessary to prolong this role so far as it does not move them as fast as they wished to create what Hassan Albana specified as the ultimate goal of the organization.